International
SDGs and higher education – Leaving many behind | There is nothing in the SDG targets linked to Goal Four – “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” – that relates to and provides concrete opportunities for strengthening higher education systems and institutions in low-income countries.
The perils of trying to transform HE too quickly | Colombia has been a leader in innovative and progressive educational policy. ICETEX, the government’s student loans agency, was the first one of its class in the world, and Colombia was among the first in Latin America to establish an accreditation agency. However, Colombia is now struggling to introduce policies that keep pace with the changes in higher education.
Professor Alabi calls for more investment in higher education | The quality of higher education can be achieved by managing the quality of input, processes, output and outcomes, Professor Goski Bortiorkor Alabi, Dean, Centre for International Education and Collaboration, University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has said.
Lithuanian experts propose universities’ consolidation to improve higher education | A working group of specialists has proposed on Tuesday a reform of state universities which would see a number of universities shrinking from 14 to 8 in a bid to increase the quality of higher education.
Australia: funding cut, fees hiked, but ‘could have been worse’ | The Australian government’s plan to cut university funding by 2.5 per cent and increase tuition fees by 7.5 per cent is “benign” compared with earlier radical proposals, according to the architect of the country’s student loans system.
Charles Sturt University concern over the Turnbull government’s higher education policy change | The [Australian] federal government has proposed a number of changes to its higher education policy including an increase to student fees by 1.8 per cent from 2018. Under the proposal fees would continue to rise to a total of 7.5 per cent by 2021.
U.S. National
Politically Divided | A little more than 42 percent of first-year students who participated in the annual American Freshman Survey indicated they were “middle-of-the-road” on political issues. This is the lowest percentage of moderate students the survey — a product of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the University of California, Los Angeles — has identified since it launched more than 50 years ago.
Gender Gaps Shrinking and Lingering | While the majority of recent studies on the issue have found that women have a harder time earning tenure-track professorships and tenure than do their male counterparts, some studies also suggest that women are now playing on a level field with men — or even possess some advantage.
‘A Perfect Mess’ | David F. Labaree’s new book makes a somewhat unusual argument to reassure those worried about the future of American higher education. Yes, it has many serious problems, he writes. But it always has and always will. And that is in fact a strength of American higher education, he argues.
U.S. States
Tuition Hikes Spread in New Mexico Amid State Budget Crisis | A rural state university in New Mexico approved a tuition hike Friday, as student costs rise within one of the nation’s most affordable public higher education systems in response to the state’s budget crisis.
Students adapt to rising college tuition | Rising tuition costs at public universities across the state [Texas] are causing some high school seniors to rethink their college plans.
Le Moyne president: Collaboration is the key to changing higher education (Commentary) | In its current form, the governor’s Excelsior Scholarship does not inspire excellence in education. Instead, it threatens one of the Empire State’s most precious assets, the public-private higher education ecosystem, and it misses a crucial opportunity to demonstrate how a real public-private partnership could address costs and increase academic outcomes.
Institutional
Is Tuition Discounting Leading Some Colleges Off a Cliff? | As growing numbers of private colleges offer steep tuition discounts to most of their students, the practice’s costs are starting to equal or exceed its benefits, a new study concludes.
Top Colleges Urged to Boost Percentage of Pell Grant Students | In order to give low-income students a better shot at graduation and to bring about more socioeconomic diversity on campus, the nation’s most selective colleges should make sure at least 20 percent of their students are Pell Grant recipients, a new paper being released today from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce argues.
Purdue Faculty Questions Kaplan Deal | Faculty members at Purdue University took a strong stance Thursday against last week’s unorthodox acquisition of Kaplan University, passing a University Senate resolution calling the deal a violation of common-sense educational practice and respect for Purdue faculty.
Two Community College Presidents Shattering Stereotypes | In the United States, Nguyen and Tomaneng grew up in racially diverse cities, found their professional calling at community colleges and have spent most of their adult lives advancing two-year institutions. Coincidentally, both women work in Northern California.
‘Running Out the Clock’ on Grad Unions? | Graduate student union bids at private institutions have succeeded, flopped and been challenged since a major NLRB decision last summer — but none thus far has resulted in a contract for student workers.